vamos a rapiar: latinos and hip-hop

From a blog called The Fallout Shelter: Vamos A Rapiar: Latinos and Hip-Hop Music A survey of the contribution of Latinos to the genre along with interesting discussions of the line(s) and connections between black, white and Latino identity.

more hispanics turning to islam

From NewAmericaMedia.org courtesy of Hispanicon:
El Diario/La Prensa, Nov 29, 2005
NEW YORK, New York -- Islam, the religion with the most followers after Christianity, is growing rapidly in the United States – and the majority of new followers are minorities, especially Hispanics, according to New York’s El Diario/La Prensa. In 1997 the American Muslim Council counted approximately 40,000 Hispanic Muslims. Recent studies estimate there are 75,000 followers most of them in big cities like New York and Miami.According to Juan Galván, vicepresident of the Latin American Dawah Organization and Census Bureau, the majority of Hispanics practicing Islam in the New York metropolitan area are Puerto Rican and Dominican.

the green party supports divestment

Press Release: The Green Party calls for divestment from the state of Israel.

dave chappelle is alive and well

Originally From the New York Times: Dave Chappelle Is Alive and Well (and Playing Las Vegas). If you recall from on the beach with dave chappelle recently converted Muslim comedian Dave Chappelle walked away from his show on comedy central and turned up in South Africa getting spiritual guidance. Now he's apparently touring and playing comedy clubs.

ecological crisis

The Truth Laid Bear blog ecosystem is in the middle of being revamped. On the one hand, Grenada seems to be getting more traffic, more links, and my rankings have actually gone up (currently #1538... but think about how many blogs are out there). And what is really amazing to me is finding out that when I do a Google search on certain topics I'm interested in, it is not infrequent that a Planet Grenada post will be in the top 10! But on the other hand, I still went from a Large Mammal to an Adorable Little Rodent. Confusion.

insignificant microbe?
intelligent design
waiting for the sun to set
on the truth laid bear

new blog idea

An idea recently occured to me: Start a Blackamerican Muslim group blog. It could be called "Third Resurrection" after Sherman Jackson's use of the term. The first resurrection occured when the Nation of Islam and similar groups appeared and offered Blacks an alternative to mainstream Christianity. The second resurrection occured after Elijah Muhammad passed away and Warithdeen Muhammad brought the Nation of Islam more in line with the teachings of Sunni Islam. The third resurrection is occuring now as Blackamerican Muslims continue to negotiate their relationship with Black Religion, the immigrant Muslim community in the US, and the broader traditions and movements of the Muslim world.

The different groups which look to Elijah Muhammad (The various incarnations of the Nation of Islam and the Five Percenters) definitely have a strong virtual presence. It is odd to me that African-American Sunnis, in spite of having larger numbers, don't have that same identifiable presence online.

Thoughts? Interested?

which makes more sense, a muslim-owned liquor store or a rastafarian barbershop?

In recent news, in at least two Oakland liquor stores, a group of African-American men wearing suits and bowties have gone into the stores and commited acts of vandalism. But the story is like an onion, with several layers.

Firstly, the liquor stores are owned by Arabs/Muslims but obviously Islam prohibits buying and selling alcohol.

Secondly, the African-American men were at first assumed to be from the Nation of Islam, but it turned out that they were from a different group of black Muslims (who may or may not be believers in Elijah Muhammad).

So thirdly you have the irony that orthodox Muslims often accuse certain "Black Muslim" groups of being disbelievers on theological grounds (for believing in a prophet after Muhammad or for believing that Fard was God) but now the Black Muslim group is criticizing the immigrant Muslim group for not following a basic element of Islamic practice.

Fourthly, this could just be seen in racial terms, just another non-Black group making a profit by selling harmful/low-quality/negative products in the Black community. The fact that its being done by Muslims who according to their own religion shouldn't be selling this stuff anyway is basically just salt in the wound.

Fifthly, I don't want to sound like a vigilante, but there is crime and then there is crime. This reminds me of past occasions when I'd hear news of some frustrated but well-intentioned community member burning down their local crack den... or Rev. Pfleger, a white (but very "down") priest in Chicago who has been arrested in the past for vandalizing alcohol and tobacco billboards in Black neighborhoods (but aquitted of the charges by the jury). The case in Oakland is definitely more severe since it involved kidnapping as well as arson. But still, not everything which is legal is right. And not everything which is right, is legal.

Sixthly, I would say the ultimate responsibility (or at least complicity) for all this rests in a number of different places. Obviously, the brothers who vandalized the store are responsible for their actions. But (from a religious and social perspective) the brothers who owned the store should have made different business decisions. But at the same time, the zoning laws and economic and financial conditions are set up so that setting up such stores in poor communities is an attractive proposition (from a profit-making perspective).

And finally, the seventh layer I would want to mention is the question of tactics. Even if we can sympathize and understand the feelings of the people who vandalized the store, what should the most constructive effective response have been? I honestly don't have a perfect answer. But it should be possible to organize collectively and more peacefully to address some of those other levels. Work through the political system to work change zoning laws and liquor licensing. Work on the community level and perhaps organize boycotts. And also locate, create, and nurture alternatives. For example, if a Muslim opens a halal grocery store (or other kind of business) in the community, make sure to support them.

That's basically all I have to say about it, right now. But you might also want to look at...

what other bloggers have said about the issues:
Izzy Mo: racial tensions in the ummah... again
Adisa Banjoko: Hip-Hop Predicted Liquor Store Trashings Long Ago
Ihsan:Alcohol smashed in Oakland, California
Sunni Sister: Pops

what news sources have reported:
ABC NEWS: Nation Of Islam Furious With Police
Inside Bay Area: Oakland liquor stores under siege
San Francisco Chronicle: Nation of Islam, store owners slam vigilantes
San Francisco Chronicle: Liquor store owner's ordeal- Arson, kidnapping in Oakland -- 6 sought in previous attack
MSNBC: 2 surrender to police in liquor-store vandal case
Kron4: Police Arrest Two Men in Liquor Store Attacks (videos)
MIPT: Two arrested in attacks on Oakland liquor stores
MIPT: Liquor store clerk found safe after kidnapping; shop had been vandalized for selling to blacks

why you bringing up old stuff? (some previous Grenada posts loosely related to the Black/immigrant divide in the United States):
racial tensions in the american ummah
in the ghetto
arab-american demographics
arabs and the racial lessons of 9/11
racial jujitsu or the more things change...
new spirit in the mosque
"asalam-alaikum , akhi. could you get me a lottery ticket?"

zaid shakir and adisa banjoko

From Holla at a Scholar: An interview of Imam Zaid Shakir with Adisa Banjoko.

the revolution won't have a video

Don't Believe the Hype by John McWhorter, senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, is an LA Times Op-ed piece which makes the long overdue point that hip-hop (whether "conscious" or not) is not a substitute for real serious political activism.

africa and islam

Just a brief and general overview.
BBC: The Story of Africa: Islam

but that's the story y'all

I told the niggaz please let us pass, friend
I said please cause I don't like killing Africans
but he wouldn't stop and I ain't Ice Cube
but I had to take the brother out for being rude
and like I said before I was mad by then
It took three or four cops to pull me off of him
But that's the story y'all of a black man
acting like a nigga and get stomped by an African

"People Everyday", by Arrested Development
more on arrested development

From The Black Commentator: Knowing the Difference between a Conscious Black, a Negro and a Ni**a by Anthony Asadullah Samad.

In a similar vein, also from The Black Commentator is: Pro-Black Thugs, Pimpin' Revolutionaries & Alien Conspiracies: Navigating the Underbelly of the 'Conscious' Community by Morpheus Reloaded

Both are necessary exercises in healthy self-criticsm. Who is a thug? Who is "conscious"? Or more precisely, how do we all manifest a little bit of both?

I'm just in that kind of mood.

the life and legacy and malcolm x

By Any Means Necessary: The Life and Legacy of Malcolm X is a brief talk given by Manning Marable at Metro State College, Denver, Colorado, February 21, 1992.

white mexican racism rears its ugly head

From The Black Commentator: White Mexican Racism Rears its Ugly Head Again by Abdul Karim Bangura is a brief but fresh and up-to-date article which discussing the African (Afrikan) presence in Mexican culture and society. It also includes a number of good links to materials (many of which have appeared on Planet Grenada before).

afro-peruvians

From The Black Commentator: In Peru, Afro-Descendants Fight Ingrained Racism, Invisibility by Angel Paez

harry potter and the scorpion sister

I just felt I should give a heads-up to Sister Scorpion's two recent Harry Potter entries:

First there is Harry Potter which gives Yassir and I a shout-out and also includes a link to the Hogwarts MSA (Muslim Students Association).

And then there is You know I had to go there... which includes a number of links with more commentary about Harry Potter and various cultural/political/racial issues. Some are "new", and some have already been included in the recent Grenada entries on implications of Harry Potter, namely:
harry potter and the last review
bell hooks v. harry potter
harry potter and the magic of whiteness

living islam out loud

The book Living Islam Out Loud is a refreshing collection by 16 American Muslim women who are contributing to public life in extraordinary ways and willing to share honestly about the experiences that have shaped their lives.

A number of them like Suheir Hammad and Mohja Khaf have previously been mentioned at Planet Grenada. [1] [2] [3] [4]

I'm also going to take this opportunity to draw attention to Su’ad Abdul-Khabeer another black latina Muslim poet, who is currently a graduate student at Princeton and is also featured in the book. (This is also a chance to check if she is reading my blog...lol)

And finally, a review from Alt.Muslim: The Diverse Feminism of "Living Islam Out Loud"

the willie lynch letter

For many years now, I've seen the Willie Lynch speech/letter circulated in different Black publications. It alleges to be the text of a speech given in 1712 by Willie Lynch to his fellow slave-holders on how to use divide-and-conquer tactics to control Black slaves. I've actually suspected this for a while, but in the Death of the Willie Lynch Speech Prof. Manu Ampim gives a detailed and logical argument for why the speech is probably not authentic.

From the point of view of historical accuracy I think it is certainly important to "debunk" the letter. But I would also say that, even if it is not "authentic" the letter is nevertheless "true" (i.e. one of the biggest obstacles to political/economic progress is a lack of unity and we won't get very far if we keep getting caught up in petty squables over stupid s---)

The full text of the Willie Lynch letter is included in Ampim's article.

public enemy no. 43,527

From Slate: Public Enemy No. 43,527 takes an insightful Big Picture view on the Jose Padilla situation. And Umar Lee makes similar comments in his own blog entry: Padilla Indictment a Complete Joke; Media Duped Again

the french muslim rebellion

Also from La Voz de Aztlan: The French Muslim Rebellion of 2005

strange rumblings at the center of our galaxy

Strange Rumblings at the Center of our Galaxy is an interesting speculation from La Voz de Aztlan about how modern astronomical observations may match up with Mayan cosmology. I would tend to take such speculation with a healthy amount of salt, but the piece is interesting nevertheless.